Teller v. Denison ⇒ $1.3 million

The Law Offices of Cary S. Lapidus obtained an arbitration award of $1.3 million, including in excess of $349,000 in attorneys' fees and costs on behalf of a client who alleged a breach of contract in connection with the private sale of securities.

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“Cary Lapidus is probably the most well prepared attorney with whom I have ever dealt. He has excellent judgment and understanding of the law. Most important of all, he is highly ethical and those who deal with him know that his word is his bond.“
Paul Dubow
Opposing Counsel & Mediator in Six Cases

In The News

BERNARD MADOFF CASE: BROKER MUST REPAY S.F. COUPLE
A Madoff-related Case
Andrew S. Ross
San Francisco Chronicle
December 19, 2010

A happier holiday season than perhaps expected for Lenore and Charles Bleadon.
The San Francisco couple are getting back $750,000 in savings that had gone down Bernard Madoff's rat hole.
Actually, the money, awarded by an arbitration panel last week, is being billed to a San Francisco brokerage, Stone & Youngberg, in what may be the first judgment of its kind in the Madoff affair.
Here's how it happened: Lenore Bleadon, 70, had inherited the money from her late father in 2005, placed it in a family trust, and had Stone & Youngberg, with whom her father had a long relationship, invest it, mostly in safe municipal bonds.
In 2007, according to a filing with the arbitration panel, the couple were advised to place the money with a Seattle money management outfit, FutureSelect Portfolio Management. Unbeknownst to Lenore and Charles Bleadon, 72, according to the filing, almost all the money found its way from FutureSelect into a Madoff ''feeder fund,'' Tremont Group Holdings, thence to Madoff Investment Securities. You know the rest.
In a claim filed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority the Bleadons' San Francisco attorney, Cary Lapidus, charged that Stone & Youngberg failed to perform its legally obligated due diligence that would otherwise have raised red flags about the ultimate destination of their clients' money.
The regulatory authority's three-person arbitration panel agreed and awarded the Bleadons $750,000 Tuesday.
''This is especially significant because, to my knowledge, it's the first time a securities brokerage firm has been held liable for losses rather than a feeder fund, or Madoff himself,'' Lapidus said.
The couple did not want to talk about the case, but according to Lapidus, ''They are very pleased; they got the full amount that they lost.'' Stone & Youngberg is not pleased, however, and it hasn't turned over the money yet. The firm is planning to file a petition to vacate the judgment, said its attorney, Ben Suter, with the San Francisco office of Keesal, Young & Logan. He said the Bleadons' losses resulted from ''Madoff's fraud, which Stone & Youngberg did not have the duty to detect.'' The award, he said, ''is contrary to the law and contrary to the evidence.''
Referring to these and what he called other ''points of contention'' at the hearing, Lapidus said the arbitration panel ''clearly agreed with us.''
A lawsuit was filed in Washington State Superior Court by FutureSelect against Tremont, its parent companies, including Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. (MassMutual) and accounting firms Ernst & Young and KPMG. FutureSelect, which has been named in a 2009 class-action lawsuit in Seattle, alleges it lost more than $195 million, the result, it says, of the defendants' failures of due diligence and ''ongoing oversight'' in ''what would turn out to be the largest fraud in United States history.'''

Please contact us for assistance with securities arbitration law, securities litigation, broker misconduct, investment advisor misconduct and investment losses.



	Teller v. Denison ⇒ $1.3 million The Law Offices of Cary S. Lapidus obtained an arbitration award of $1.3 million, including in excess of $349,000 in attorneys' fees and costs on behalf of a client who alleged a breach of contract in connection with the private sale of securities. WCM, LLC v. Cooper ⇒ $1.56 million (plus attorneys fees and expenses) The Law Offices of Cary S. Lapidus obtained an award of $1.56 million on behalf of a registered investment advisory firm and two of its partners who retained Lapidus to recover money allegedly misappropriated by one of their partners. In addition to the $1.56 million monetary award, Lapidus' clients were awarded their attorneys' fees and expenses. The arbitrator also found that the firm's expulsion of the partner was "For Cause". Levinthal v. First Republic Securities Company, LLC ⇒ $2.17 million The Law Offices of Cary S. Lapidus recovered $2.17 million for clients who sustained losses in a complex municipal arbitrage bond fund. The clients alleged that the fund was unsuitable for them and that the firm that recommended and sold the investment had failed to perform proper due diligence. The award is notable for awarding the full amount of the clients' damages, including out-of-pocket losses and arbitration expenses. Smurzynski v. Kensington Wells, Inc., et. al. ⇒ $1.84 million (including $1 million in punitive damages and interest) The Law Offices of Cary S. Lapidus obtained an arbitration award of $1.84 million including $1 million in punitive damages and interest for clients who alleged that the stocks they invested in were manipulated and that material facts were misrepresented to them. Coutant v. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, et. al. ⇒ $1.01 million The Law Offices of Cary S. Lapidus obtained an arbitration award of $1.01 million on behalf of clients who alleged that their securities brokerage firm failed to diversity their account, placed them in unsuitable investments and misrepresented the risks of options trading. Breiman v. Round Hill Securities, Inc. et. al. ⇒ $1.44 million The Law Offices of Cary S. Lapidus obtained an arbitration award of $1.44 million on behalf of clients who alleged fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and misrepresentations in connection with their securities portfolio. Hall v. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, et. al. ⇒ $1.76 million The Law Offices of Cary S. Lapidus obtained an arbitration award of $1.76 million for clients who sustained losses in a complex investment known as a Prepaid Variable Forward Contract. The clients also alleged the recommendation of unsuitable investments in their stock portfolio. Bourdev v. JPMorgan Chase ⇒ $350,000 + revision of Form U-5 language $350,000 on behalf of a registered representative/banker who was terminated from JPMorgan Chase. After a full evidentiary hearing, a FINRA arbitration panel awarded $350,000 in compensatory damages for defamation and/or wrongful termination and ordered that the language on her Form U-5 be changed to reflect that she did not engage in any wrongdoing and that the company conducted a deficient investigation. Pacific Stock Exchange v. Cox Securities, et. al. ⇒ $1.54 million The Law Offices of Cary S. Lapidus obtained an award of $1.54 million on behalf of the Pacific Stock Exchange who retained Lapidus as special counsel to prosecute the case. In addition to the monetary award, Lapidus obtained a Decision ordered the permanent bar of the Pacific Exchange member from membership with the Pacific Stock Exchange. Dozens of settlements and awards on behalf of clients Cary S. Lapidus has obtained dozens of settlements, awards and judgments on behalf of his clients since leaving the Securities and Exchange Commission, where he worked in the Enforcement and Market Regulation Divisions.
site navigation Profile Services Case Results Reviews In The News Contact Info Home Page “Cary Lapidus is probably the most well prepared attorney with whom I have ever dealt. He has excellent judgment and understanding of the law. Most important of all, he is highly ethical and those who deal with him know that his word is his bond.“ Paul Dubow Opposing Counsel & Mediator in Six Cases		In The News BERNARD MADOFF CASE: BROKER MUST REPAY S.F. COUPLE A Madoff-related Case Andrew S. Ross San Francisco Chronicle December 19, 2010 A happier holiday season than perhaps expected for Lenore and Charles Bleadon. The San Francisco couple are getting back $750,000 in savings that had gone down Bernard Madoff's rat hole. Actually, the money, awarded by an arbitration panel last week, is being billed to a San Francisco brokerage, Stone & Youngberg, in what may be the first judgment of its kind in the Madoff affair. Here's how it happened: Lenore Bleadon, 70, had inherited the money from her late father in 2005, placed it in a family trust, and had Stone & Youngberg, with whom her father had a long relationship, invest it, mostly in safe municipal bonds. In 2007, according to a filing with the arbitration panel, the couple were advised to place the money with a Seattle money management outfit, FutureSelect Portfolio Management. Unbeknownst to Lenore and Charles Bleadon, 72, according to the filing, almost all the money found its way from FutureSelect into a Madoff ''feeder fund,'' Tremont Group Holdings, thence to Madoff Investment Securities. You know the rest. In a claim filed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority the Bleadons' San Francisco attorney, Cary Lapidus, charged that Stone & Youngberg failed to perform its legally obligated due diligence that would otherwise have raised red flags about the ultimate destination of their clients' money. The regulatory authority's three-person arbitration panel agreed and awarded the Bleadons $750,000 Tuesday. ''This is especially significant because, to my knowledge, it's the first time a securities brokerage firm has been held liable for losses rather than a feeder fund, or Madoff himself,'' Lapidus said. The couple did not want to talk about the case, but according to Lapidus, ''They are very pleased; they got the full amount that they lost.'' Stone & Youngberg is not pleased, however, and it hasn't turned over the money yet. The firm is planning to file a petition to vacate the judgment, said its attorney, Ben Suter, with the San Francisco office of Keesal, Young & Logan. He said the Bleadons' losses resulted from ''Madoff's fraud, which Stone & Youngberg did not have the duty to detect.'' The award, he said, ''is contrary to the law and contrary to the evidence.'' Referring to these and what he called other ''points of contention'' at the hearing, Lapidus said the arbitration panel ''clearly agreed with us.'' A lawsuit was filed in Washington State Superior Court by FutureSelect against Tremont, its parent companies, including Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. (MassMutual) and accounting firms Ernst & Young and KPMG. FutureSelect, which has been named in a 2009 class-action lawsuit in Seattle, alleges it lost more than $195 million, the result, it says, of the defendants' failures of due diligence and ''ongoing oversight'' in ''what would turn out to be the largest fraud in United States history.''' Please contact us for assistance with securities arbitration law, securities litigation, broker misconduct, investment advisor misconduct and investment losses.
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